The present invention relates to a component mounting apparatus and a component mounting method for mounting a plurality of components onto a circuit board, in which device or method a bonding-assistant agent is supplied to the components by making a plurality of bump electrodes brought into contact with the bonding-assistant agent, the bump electrodes being formed on mounting-side surfaces of the components on which side the components are to be mounted onto the board, and the bonding-assistant agent serving as an auxiliary agent for bonding in the mounting of the components onto the board, where the components supplied with the bonding-assistant agent are mounted onto the circuit board via the respective bump electrodes.
Conventionally, as this kind of component mounting apparatus and component mounting method, those of various structures have been known (see, e.g., Japanese unexamined patent publication No. H09-82748). As an example of such conventional component mounting apparatuses, a component mounting apparatus 501 is shown in FIG. 22, which is a perspective view of its appearance, and in FIG. 23, which is a schematic perspective view schematically showing only main structural part of the component mounting apparatus 501.
As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the component mounting apparatus 501 is a component mounting apparatus which performs the mounting of a bare IC chip or other component 503 onto a board 502, and which has, on its base 560, a mounting head unit 510 for holding and mounting the component 503 onto the board 502, a board holding unit 550 for releasably holding the board 502, a component feed unit 540 for extractably housing a plurality of components 503, and a transfer unit 520 for extracting a feed-object component 503 from the component feed unit 540 and transferring the component 503 to the mounting head unit 510. The component mounting apparatus 501 further includes a board conveyance unit 580 for feeding the board 502, onto which the component 503 is to be mounted, to the board holding unit 550 and for extracting the board 502, on which the components 503 have been mounted, from the board holding unit 550 and discharging the board 502 from the component mounting apparatus 501.
The structure of the component mounting apparatus 501 is described in more detail with reference to FIG. 23. The component feed unit 540 is enabled to feed a plurality of components 503, which are formed by dicing of a wafer 504, while keeping them arrayed and positioned on its top surface. Also, as shown in FIG. 22, a component housing section 570 for housing a plurality of wafers 504 or the like so that the wafer 504 or the like can be fed to the component feed unit 540 is provided in front of the component feed unit 540 as viewed in the figure.
Further, as shown in FIG. 23, the board holding unit 550 includes an X-Y table 551 for moving the held board 502 in an X-axis direction or a Y-axis direction in the figure. The mounting head unit 510 includes a mounting head section 511 for releasably sucking and holding the component 503 at its lower end and performing mounting operation of the sucked and held component 503 to the board 502, and a mounting head moving unit 512 for supporting the mounting head section 511 and moving forward and backward the mounting head section 511 along the X-axis direction in the figure. The mounting head unit 510 further includes an image pickup camera 513 for capturing an image of a sucking-and-holding state of the component 503 sucked and held by the mounting head section 511 to thereby recognize the sucking-and-holding posture.
As shown in FIG. 23, the transfer unit 520 includes an inversion head section 521 which sucks and holds and extracts one component 503 out of the components 503 extractably positioned on the component feed unit 540 and which turns 180 degree about a rotational center placed along the Y-axis direction in the figure to invert upper and lower faces of the component 503, and an inversion head moving unit 522 which moves the inversion head section 521 forward and backward along the X-axis direction in the figure between a position above the component feed unit 540 and a delivery position to the mounting head section 511. Further, on the right side in the X-axis direction of the board holding unit 550 on the base 560 is provided a flux supply unit which supplies flux, which is an example of the bonding-assistant agent, to the component 503.
A schematic explanatory view for schematically explaining mounting operation of the component 503 to the board 502 in the component mounting apparatus 501 having the structure shown above is shown in FIG. 24. The mounting operation is described below with reference to FIG. 24.
As shown in FIG. 24, the component feed unit 540 has a plurality of components 503 placed thereon with an upper face of each component 503 serving as a mounting-side surface 503a for mounting to the board 502, where a plurality of bump electrode portions 503b are formed on the mounting-side surface 503a. 
The inversion head section 521 is moved to above the component feed unit 540 (assumed to be a component feed region J), where the mounting-side surface 503a of the component 503 is sucked and held by the inversion head section 521, and the component 503 is extracted from the component feed unit 540. Thereafter, the inversion head section 521 is moved by the inversion head moving unit 522 from above the component feed unit 540 up to a component delivery position L for the component 503 to be delivered to the mounting head section 511. During this move process, the inversion head section 521 is inverted to make an inversion of the component 503 so that its mounting-side surface 503a of the sucked-and-held component 503 is made to face downward.
Next, the mounting head section 511 is placed at the component delivery position L, and further the mounting head section 511 is moved down to suck and hold the component 503 sucked and held by the inversion head section 521. Moreover, the sucking and holding of the component 503 by the inversion head section 521 is released to make delivery of the component 503.
After the delivery, the mounting head section 511 is moved from the component delivery position L up to a flux supply position M, which is a position above a flux supply unit 530. The flux supply unit 530 has on its top a flux containing section 531 in which flux is contained. As a result of move-down of the component 503 sucked and held by the mounting head section 511, the individual bump electrode portions 503b formed on the mounting-side surface 503a of the component 503 are brought into contact with the flux contained in the flux containing section 531, by which flux supply to the individual bump electrode portions 503b is performed. It is noted that this flux supply is performed in a state that the component 503 is sucked and held by the mounting head section 511, and effected by retention of contact with the flux for a specified time duration, e.g., 2 seconds.
Upon completion of the flux supply, the mounting head section 511 is moved up and further moved to a component mounting region K, which is above the board 502 held by the board holding unit 550. After this move, image capture by the image pickup camera 513 is performed, so that the sucking-and-holding posture of the component 503 is recognized.
Thereafter, alignment between the mounting position of the component 503 on the board 502 and the component 503 sucked and held by the mounting head section 511 is performed by the X-Y table 551. Subsequent to this alignment, the mounting head section 511 is moved down, and the component 503, to which flux has been supplied, is mounted onto the board 502.
The mounting head section 511, which has executed the mounting operation, is moved to the component delivery position L to receive the next component 503 sucked and held by the inversion head section 521.